*To be edited
These elections have been stunning for me, and have again shaken my faith in the institution of Christianity. Thankfully, my personal relationship with God in my faith sustains me.
I believe in God, and I love the Lord, however, I am astounded by the conduct of these people who are public figures, and act as spokespeople for Christianity. During these elections the Christians I have encountered, or heard on the Christian Networks, at least for the most part, who are white and pentecostal, have been just as mindlessly anti-Obama and as hateful, just as Atheist and non-Christian RACISTS have been. Why??
My family and I sometimes visit different churches on Sunday, even though we have a home church, and during the election cycle, we have been disgusted by the barely concealed bigotry against President Obama, we constantly encountered in the churches we visited. I have taken pains to distinguish my home church from the class of bigoted congregations because even though our Church is predominantly older and whiter, our pastor has not been blatant about his political preferences.
I have spoken with many Christians about the feigned basis of their barely concealed dislike, or in some cases, discussed with them, their evident hatred of the president. Their baseless responses are always the same. They claim that he is not a Christian and supports gay marriage. I mean, really?
Mormonism has not been considered Christianity in most Pentecostal circles, and in most instances, it was described as a cult. Mormons, in return, have always been very careful, at least until Mitt Romney became the Republican candidate, about distinguishing themselves from Christians, since they, Mormons, are the latter-day Saints. Mitt Romney is a Mormon, a religion most Evangelicals have ALWAYS considered a CULT, yet many White Evangelicals supported him, why why why??
How is a religion that does not accept the BASIC tenets of our Christian faith, a religion that contains and preached as part of its fundamental tenets, a virulently racist belief that Black skin is a curse from God, be somehow better in any way than a Christian Protestant president who happens to approve for gay marriage???? Which is the more egregious failing, at least, based on our Christian religion?? That was rhetorical.
In addition, Mormonism in addition to possessing so very many beliefs that directly contradict and bastardize the basis of our faith, is also one of the very few religions in the world that has OPENLY institutionalized racism. The only reason Mormons started allowing Blacks into the priesthood–a priesthood that Mormon children obtained at the age of 12– was because in 1978 President Jimmy Carter told them they would lose their tax exempt status if they continued to practice their institutionalized racist behaviors. That was the only time they stopped. Through out this time of blatant and unapologetic racism by the Mormon church, Mitt Romney was an ACTIVE and POPULAR Bishop in the MORMON Church. If you want to read more about the Mormon church, click HERE, and watch the video.
So, you see, because of the brazen racism of many of my fellow Evangelicals in their support of the Mormon Mitt Romney, based it would seem, on nothing but racial animus directed at Obama, HAS CREATED IN ME, A CRISIS OF FAITH.
I think White Evangelicals should examine their racist “quota”. It is telling that YOUNG WHITE EVANGELICALS are welcoming of Obama, and MANY I know, voted FOR him, even though they do not agree with his views on gay marriage. Meanwhile, the older white Evangelicals mirror the irrational RACIALLY motivated support of Romney, by other “main stream” white non-Christian, and white atheist contemporaries.
Even more sickening was the Romney message of shunning the poor that was accepted by many on the Far Right. The anti-poor Republican slogan, echoed by many churches was an outrage. Yet, in some churches we visited, and even many churches on TV, preachers like Robinson, Dobson and a few other racist echoed the TIRED line that the poor should fend for themselves. This witch hunt of the poor is unchristian and WRONG.
The poor can be assisted by the government to get on their feet. To suggest that poor people are a bunch of lazy folk is an outrage. And to claim that government has no business in helping the poor is STUPID. There has been devastation in the North East. Do these same folks think those people should fend for themselves???
By the way, I know welfare and poverty conjures up a Black face, but it is a social construct and is utterly FALSE. Just for informational purposes, people should know that in reality, even though the percentage of poor people of color appears higher in percentage than the percentage of poor whites, in reality, there hundreds of millions more whites who are POOR and on Welfare. Welfare is predominantly White.
Here is some information from the 2010 census and earlier:
Of the 46 million people living in poverty in America in 2010, the U.S. census revealed that 31 million were white. Ten million were black. Of the 49 million people without health insurance coverage, 37 million were white; 8 million were African American. Latinos of every race and Asian Americans represented the remaining largest ethnic groups.
The face of poverty in America is overwhelmingly white, but as sociologist and professor William O’Hare explains in a 2009 study on children in poverty, the white American poor, especially those in rural areas, are “forgotten.”
White Americans, poor and middle-class alike, receive the vast majority of tax-funded government assistance programs, from monthly assistance to Social Security to food stamps.
TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the program that provides aid to single mothers, is the most well-known welfare program, but the truth is that Social Security and Medicare are also social welfare services, funded by tax dollars. To that end, nearly 70 percent of all benefits of these programs go to white people. In fact, since African Americans have lower life expectancy, many work and pay into the Social Security and Medicare programs through their tax dollars, only to have white Americans, who have a longer life expectancy, benefit from the income they’ve left behind.
O’Hare’s research in his 2009 report “The Forgotten Fifth: Child Poverty in Rural America,” reveals that 57 percent of rural poor children were white and 44 percent of all urban poor children were white. But theirs is a story rarely told, their faces hardly seen. High poverty rates for poor and working-class whites have worsened since the 2008 economic crisis. Rural white poverty was already more systemic than urban poverty. Poor whites are more likely to lack basic education levels and remain in poverty for generations.
As a Christian, I trust that God will help me get over this phase. And I hope that White Evangelicals, especially those who deliberately overlook the clear INTENT behind their mindless support of the Mormon Romney, and justify or deny their hatred of the Christian (Protestant) Obama will re-examine their motives.
There is a reason White America, including White Evangelicals supported Romney despite his alien and Scientology cult like religion, as opposed to supporting the Bi-Racial Barack Obama, a known Protestant Christian. White Americans no matter their creed overwhelmingly supported Romney, and EVANGELICAL Christians supported him in LARGE numbers. The only common denominator among Most whites who voted against Obama was the color of THEIR skin. Their faith was a mere cover for their rabid rejection of the president, and you know what, IT STINKS.
I have a crisis of faith because of the conduct of Christians whom I thought loved the Lord. In this election, their RACISM was front and center. I supported Obama, and he won. I am happy I supported him. He is a man who makes mistakes, but I did not judge him by the color of his skin alone, and did not mindlessly support Romney and his racist religion.
To the rest of Christians for whom RACISM (whether they admit it or not) drove their INSANE support of Romney, I hope, as Jesus said, they will “PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.” They need wisdom from God. And I hope they obtain it!!
I have a crisis of faith looking at the sea of racists who showed their hands and hearts during this election. But I know God will help me. He has already started. God is good. Amen.
God help us all.
BlackRepublicanAndMyWorldView 